Castle in the Clouds
by Yakow
Summary: Chapter 13 up! Sorry it took sooooo long. I haven't had an internet connection for ages! Oh the frustration! All is well until Keira suddenly vanishes in the night. Will Jak and Daxter ever see her again? Here's the next chappie! Pleeeez review me!
1. Default Chapter

Hi everybody!  
  
This is my first ever fic so go easy on me. Anyway as this is my fic, anything can happen and will. I would also like to point out that I am not a fan of any Yaoi stories. If you enjoy reading that, well, you can go and read someone else's fic. Don't say I didn't warn you.  
  
Basically, I had a couple of ideas and I thought I'd type/write them down!  
  
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They all belong to Naughtydog (those fantastic people). Read and review if you could please. ^_^  
  
OK! On with the story. *Starts dancing*  
  
Castle in the Clouds  
  
It had been a long and tiring day for Jak and Daxter. They had spent most of the day searching for some Precursor artifact Samos had been nagging at them to get. The reply often came back as "we don't feel like it" but today had differed. Samos had hit Jak with his staff. The result was a rather large bruise on his right forearm.  
  
After many hot hours, Jak had spotted the artifact wedged in a small gap in a cliff. He had sent Daxter up to retrieve it. Daxter pulled at it and soon enough it popped right out startling him slightly. Jak caught the small chunk of metal as it fell from half way up the cliff and, shortly after, one ottsel too. After being knocked over by Daxter, Jak scrambled to his feet and victoriously held up the artifact. Daxter jumped back onto Jak's shoulder and the two of them walked back from the jungle to Samos's hut.  
  
Having some time before tea, Jak, Daxter and Keira went for a walk along Sentinel Beach. After the walk the three of them sat down on the sand and stared out into the sunset. Keira yawned. "It was hot today, the two of you must be exhausted", she said turning to glance at Daxter who had already fallen fast asleep and was snoring loudly. Jak and Keira giggled quietly. "How's your arm?" she asked leaning over to see it. "Is it alright?" Jak nodded. "I'm sorry about that", Keira said. "My father just gets grumpy sometimes". Jak smiled and continued to look out to sea. He sighed heavily. Keira hesitated slightly before leaning against Jak's shoulder. "It sure is beautiful", she said closing her eyes, Jak smiling and giving a gentle nod. He was just about to place his arm around her but ceased to when the two of them jumped at the sound of Samo's voice calling them for dinner. Several birds took off at this sudden noise. Of course Daxter was still asleep, as nothing seems to wake him once settled. The two of them (Daxter being carried) slowly went home.  
  
Dinner was Yakow stew with a side helping of bread. The meal had well- satisfied Jak's hunger and he slowly trudged off to his bed. He carefully placed Daxter on a cushion next to the fireplace in which an ember was visible. Jak's bed was not exciting. It consisted of a small rush mat and a pillow but still allowed him to sleep comfortably. The young boy lay there calmly; his eyes set on the green sun. (A: N anyone noticed they don't have a moon?) His glare, slowly drifting into a good night's sleep.  
  
(A: N This was the default chapter please note. But wasn't it a nice intro? *Smiles in hope* Anyway if you have time please review it. It would be so good to hear from you people out there. Ja ne minasan!) 


	2. Footsteps

Dinner was Yakow stew with a side helping of bread. The meal had well- satisfied Jak's hunger and he slowly trudged off to his bed. He carefully placed Daxter on a cushion next to the fireplace in which an ember was visible. Jak's bed was not exciting. It consisted of a small rush mat and a pillow but still allowed him to sleep comfortably. The young boy lay there calmly; his eyes set on the green sun. (A: N anyone noticed they don't have a moon?) His glare, slowly drifting into a good night's sleep.  
  
Chapter 2: Footsteps  
  
Meanwhile that night, Keira found herself restless. The A-GraV Zoomer had been playing up lately after too much contact with Dark Eco boxes. She decided to go for a walk to see if that could stand any chance of tiring her in the slightest. She quietly went up the ramp to Samos's level and jumped through the teleport gate to Geyser Rock. This destination was perfect, as there are no creatures lurking on the island.  
  
In all knowing that she was safe, she wandered about admiring the beautiful landscapes that surrounded her. There was a gentle breeze sweeping off the ocean and the air was warm. She wandered for about ten minutes until she decided it would be good for her if she slept a while. She lowered herself onto a rock nearby and bent over to touch the sand. It wasn't damp so she sat in it, picking it up and letting it filter through her fingers. The sound of the geysers was calming and she found herself drifting off leaning against a rock to prop herself up.  
  
She slept for several hours until she awoke at the sound of rustling. She sat up and stretched, her eyes still fixed on the bush that continued to move. "Strange", she said curiously. "This island isn't inhabited apart from a few birds and insects." She reminded herself of all the scary and dangerous lurkers Daxter had talked about so much. Mind you, he would do it to sound courageous, knowing Daxter. Of course, it would have been Jak fighting them and not he. Keira smirked at the thought of this. She did find the two highly amusing at times. She began to drift of the subject that there was something out there and fell into a daydream.  
  
* * * "I have always dreamed about floating on some cloud up to a huge castle or palace just for me, father and the boys. There would be huge gardens full of beautiful scenery and rare plants that I could admire and father could study. It could all be so perfect. I would never have to worry about that stubborn Zoomer, as we would all have pretty feathery wings. We could glide about all day do aesthetic arial displays, loop the loop, twists, spirals...  
  
* * * Her daydream had been cut off by the creature in the bush again. She was tired of this and stood up to walk to a different part of the island. She walked slowly up the beach to where the long climb began. She had walked several metres and stopped. "There's something there", she whispered. She thought she must have been imagining it and continued to walk.  
  
As she walked she wearily kept checking over her shoulder. "It's just the wind. It's just the wind", She repeated to herself. "It's just the wind. It's just the wind. It's just the wind." Her voice trembling each time she said. Her pace quickened. Soon after that her walk developed into a brisk trot and then a run. She could feel her heart thumping wildly against her chest.  
  
She raced up the hill and hid herself in the shadow of a nearby tree. She paused for a second and held her breath. "Footsteps. I can hear footsteps", she muttered under her breath. She noticed her breathing get deeper and speed up. "Something's following me, something's stalking me. I can hear its footsteps." She curled up in fright and wept in fear. Her tears, cold as ice, slowly trickled down her pale face. How she wished Jak was there to hold her and protect her.  
  
She looked up and saw a shadow emerging. It had no recognisable shape or colour and yet hauntingly it did. Keira stared up and this unknown horror. Absolutely terrified, she stopped breathing. Her eyes widened and her pupils narrowed at the sight. She buried her face into her arms and gave out a short squeal. The figure rose above her, held up a tightly clenched fist and hurled it towards her. She felt a sharp blow to the back of her head and fell to the floor. The world around her was spiralling and darkening until all was black... jet-black.  
  
(A: N: Well what do you think? Be sure to let me know by reviewing. I'll try to update soon so until then, see ya!) 


	3. Dreams

She looked up and saw a shadow emerging. It had no recognisable shape or colour and yet hauntingly it did. Keira stared up and this unknown horror. Absolutely terrified, she stopped breathing. Her eyes widened and her pupils narrowed at the sight. She buried her face into her arms and gave out a short squeal. The figure rose above her, held up a tightly clenched fist and hurled it towards her. She felt a sharp blow to the back of her head and fell to the floor. The world around her was spiralling and darkening until all was black... jet-black.  
  
(A: N: Hiya everybody! Enjoy the last chappie? Well good! Here's the next one!  
  
Whoa... too much sugar)  
  
Chapter 3: Dreams  
  
The next morning it was sunny. Very sunny. It's rays shone straight through the window and awoke the sleeping boy. Jak stretched and gave a loud yawn. Of course that didn't wake Daxter. He was still sound asleep. The ottsel had fallen off the cushion and was dribbling down his front. Jak grinned, picked up a bucket and quietly walked out the room.  
  
He went down to the well opposite the fisherman's hut and splashed water in his face. He filled up the bucket and walked back to Samos's hut. When inside, he picked up everyone's cups and filled them water for breakfast. As there was still some in the bucket he put it back in the corner.  
  
Jak went back outside and stared into the sunrise. He had always dreamed of what was out there, beyond the horizon. If it were up to him, he'd "borrow" the fisherman's boat and sail out into the distance. Jak sighed at the thought of Samos giving him a good whack on the head with his staff. Samos worried too much. He would never let Jak or any of the others go anywhere like that, not even if it would be to study Eco. Jak kept thinking that one- day he would be allowed to go out there and explore to his hearts content. He drifted off into a silent daydream.  
  
Inside Daxter was enjoying himself in deep slumber. He was dreaming very happily and had been all night. He was dreaming about chocolate. Yes, chocolate. He just loved the stuff. He dreamt of it meting into a thick, oozing, gooey substance that tastes wonderful. What he hated about this dream was to be woken up in the middle of it. He hated the thought of leaving his chocolate world of wonder only to get dragged off onto one of these "adventures" with Jak. Mind you he didn't like being left alone either.  
  
* * * The chocolate. It was everywhere. The buildings, the grass, the plants, the people. Everything played a part in this huge chocolate heaven. Another amazing thing was that Daxter was all on his own. Nobody else could take his chocolate away from him. Nobody could take a bite out of it while he wasn't looking. No, it was all his. All HIS chocolate!  
  
* * * Up on the higher level, Samos was dreaming too. He dreamt that all his problems had been solved and he could relax. Daxter would be changed back into a human and would no longer nag him or shout at him for help. He would know all the secrets of Green Eco. Dark Eco would no longer pose a threat or mysteriously "change" anyone. He could finally live in peace among his animal friends and nature could run wild. That would be perfect.  
  
(A: N: I love dreaming too! Pretty pointless chapter, I know. I guess I just like typing. Anyway you know what to do. Keep those reviews coming! Thanks Krimzon-Yakkow for your reviews! Plus anyone else who reviewed out there. I love you all very, very much! I need to lie down now. Goodbye!) 


	4. Missing

Up on the higher level, Samos was dreaming too. He dreamt that all his problems had been solved and he could relax. Daxter would be changed back into a human and would no longer nag him or shout at him for help. He would know all the secrets of Green Eco. Dark Eco would no longer pose a threat or mysteriously "change" anyone. He could finally live in peace among his animal friends and nature could run wild. That would be perfect.  
  
(A: N Here's the next chapter for you all! *Goes off singing* "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. Just keep swimming...") Only a short one ok?  
  
Chapter 4: Missing  
  
Daxter was quietly sleeping until he was awoken by a bucket of water being thrown at him. "Jak, what was that for? My fur is dry clean only!" Jak only laughed at this remark. Daxter, on the other hand, had his arms folded across his furry chest and was pouting like a two-year-old. Jak turned to leave the room for breakfast but was stopped by Daxter who jumped on top of Jak, knocking him over. The two of them squabbled for a while, throwing playful kicks and punches at each other.  
  
Samos heard all of it and came straight down the ramp to the lower level where Jak and Daxter were fighting. "Ok you two", he ordered. "That's enough of that." Jak and Daxter ignored him. Samos held up his staff as if he were about to strike at them. Jak and Daxter noticed this immediately and ceased fighting. They turned simultaneously and saluted the old man with wild grins on their faces. "No joking around boys. This is serious", he said with a very concerned look on his face. Jak and Daxter glanced at each other, both of them looking worried. "K, Keira is m, missing", Samos stuttered. Jak raced into Keira's bedroom only to find she was, indeed, gone. "Where is she?" asked Daxter anxiously. "How am I supposed to know? Daxter", the Sage replied. "Jak go check for her at Geyser Rock. If she is not there come back and tell me. Then the two of you can search Sentinel Beach and The Forbidden Jungle. In the meantime I will contact the other Sages to see if they have heard anything of her. Oh, and Jak, take the furball with you!" Daxter frowned at this comment but hopped straight onto Jak's shoulder and the two of them jumped through the teleporter.  
  
(A: N Sorry it's such a small chapter but it will continue into the next one. So keep checking back. You never know when I'll update. Anyway for now... "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming, swimming, swimming." See you all soon and keep reviewing!!!) 


	5. Trapped

"No joking around boys. This is serious", he said with a very concerned look on his face. Jak and Daxter glanced at each other, both of them looking worried. "K, Keira is m, missing", Samos stuttered. Jak raced into Keira's bedroom only to find she was, indeed, gone. "Where is she?" asked Daxter anxiously. "How am I supposed to know? Daxter", the Sage replied. "Jak go check for her at Geyser Rock. If she is not there come back and tell me. Then the two of you can search Sentinel Beach and The Forbidden Jungle. In the meantime I will contact the other Sages to see if they have heard anything of her. Oh, and Jak, take the furball with you!" Daxter frowned at this comment but hopped straight onto Jak's shoulder and the two of them jumped through the teleporter.  
  
Here's another chappie for y'all! Thankyou Jonny, Mandy and Krin for reviewing. All of you are so cool! What happened to Keira, you ask? Well here's your chance to find out (...or sort of). Don't worry, it's nothing too bad. (Sorry anti-Keiras!!!) Anyway here's chapter five. R&R if you have the time. Enjoy!!! *Continues to talk to trees*  
  
Chapter 5: Trapped  
  
It had been several hours before Keira finally awoke. She had obviously been kidnapped or taken somewhere that she didn't recognise. "Where am I?" she said drowsily, her vision only just coming back into focus.  
  
She found herself on a cold, stone floor in what looked like a prison cell. She sighed and sat down on a small bench beside her. She nervously glanced around; her eyes scanning the environment for some sort of exit. All she could see was a small ray of light piercing through the barred window opposite her. The walls surrounding her were stone. Black stone, of which some of the bricks had stained with age. In front of her was a tall metal gate, which was locked tightly. There was no way of her even trying to make an escape. The only sound was constant dripping coming from above her, forming a shallow puddle on the floor beneath her. She was absolutely parched at the time and, without thinking of any toxins that could lie in the water, threw herself to the floor, cupping her hands and scooping the water up. She placed the water to her mouth and felt it flow past her lips. The water tasted cold and lifeless, not like the water at home which was clean and refreshing. This wasn't satisfying enough, as she was also very hungry. She wondered if she would ever get out of this dungeon.  
  
She stared up at the window. The bars did seem quite wide apart and maybe, if she tried, she could squeeze through. Before she even attempted this she decided to take a quick look outside, just to check if the place was safe and not heavily guarded. It looked useless. She turned back to look on the other side of the gate. There was a long narrow corridor and more prison cells. Only a torch, burning at the other end dimly lighted the passage. There was also a lurker, a regular one that looked half-asleep, guarding the place.  
  
It was foggy for all she could see. There was a slight breeze whirling gently through the window and was causing some of the trees outside to sway. The trees weren't exactly welcoming in any way. They seemed more like dead shoots stuck in the ground than the lush green ones back in Sandover village. "Sandover village!" she said aloud. "What about Jak and Daxter? Father will be so worried." She began to wonder if she would ever see him again. Tears welled up inside of her and she let them out one by one. They trickled down her pale face. There were images of Jak and the others in her head. Thinking of them only made her feel worse. She longed to be back in her village, safe in Jak's arms. She only blushed at this. She didn't want to admit she had feelings for the blonde boy. It would only result in Daxter teasing her.  
  
Thinking of the village was sad enough but somewhere inside her, she could feel determination building up. It seemed hopeless, but she put on a serious face and forced herself to try the window idea.  
  
A: N Oh what could happen next? Will Keira ever get out? I'll try to update soon so you can find out. Anyway until then keep reviewing. You guys out there are so helpful! I'm going to bed now. Bye bye! 


	6. Venom

It was foggy for all she could see. There was a slight breeze whirling gently through the window and was causing some of the trees outside to sway. The trees weren't exactly welcoming in any way. They seemed more like dead shoots stuck in the ground than the lush green ones back in Sandover village. "Sandover village!" she said aloud. "What about Jak and Daxter? Father will be so worried." She began to wonder if she would ever see him again. Tears welled up inside of her and she let them out one by one. They trickled down her pale face. There were images of Jak and the others in her head. Thinking of them only made her feel worse. She longed to be back in her village, safe in Jak's arms. She only blushed at this. She didn't want to admit she had feelings for the blonde boy. It would only result in Daxter teasing her.  
  
Thinking of the village was sad enough but somewhere inside her, she could feel determination building up. It seemed hopeless, but she put on a serious face and forced herself to try the window idea.  
  
Hiya everybody! Here's the next chapter! Remember to R&R if you have the time. The last reviews were great! Thanx all of you who reviewed. Anyway, read on... Enjoy!!!  
  
Chapter 6: Venom  
  
Jak and Daxter came straight through the teleporter on Geyser Rock. Daxter, however, landed rather uncomfortably and ended up on his head. Jak, who was trying to keep a straight face over his missing "girlfriend", had managed to let a small smile out. Daxter pouted and then noticed his friend's worried expression. He sighed and sat down next to him. "Don't worry", he said. "We'll find her. She can't have gone that far, well, not too far for you, that is. You travelled miles for me, so you could try and change me back, remember?" A smile broke out on Jak's tanned face. "Of sat up and stretched. "Well, we'll never find her sitting around all day like this, will we?" And with that, Jak stood up and waited for Daxter's orders. "Ok then. We'll cover more ground if we split up. Jak, you search up the cliffs, I'll check the beaches. Any word and I'll meet you back here, by this rock. As you can't make much of a sound, you come and find me on one of the beaches. Let's get going then!"  
  
Daxter marched off towards the nearest beach, calling Keira's name. "Keira! C'mon babe, it's time to go home. Just come here, to you your old pal Daxie." Jak covered his ears at the sound of this. Daxter did have a rather loud voice and at the moment, he had fired it in the direction of the cliffs, towards Jak's destination. The sound waves seem to bounce continuously, rock to rock, cliff to cliff. Jak shook his head and began a brisk pace up the hill. Daxter never stopped shouting once. It's suprising how Jak puts up with him twenty four – seven.  
  
Daxter looked high and low, behind bushes, up trees and there was still no sign of the young lady. "Where'd you go Keira?" He whispered, kicking the sand as he walked along the coastline. The wind had died down and the sun had got increasingly hotter. He felt it burn against his fur. He sighed annoyingly at the sight of sand stuck in his fur. He hated nothing less than this. It was probably one of the only disadvantages of being short and fuzzy, that and the fact that Keira won't date animals. What he knew that he didn't want to admit was that Keira liked Jak. He wasn't sure if Jak knew but he didn't want to brag about it. Daxter did have a crush on her after all.  
  
Meanwhile, up in the cliffs, Jak was searching all over the place when he finally reached the tallest part of a rock face possible. From here he could see the whole of Geyser Rock, including Daxter who was leaning against a tree, not looking too pleased. As Jak could see the whole of the island he could clearly see that there was no sign of Keira. He gave a deep sigh and began to make his way back to Daxter.  
  
It was coming up to midday by the time Jak and Daxter had met up again. They had seen and heard nothing of Keira for hours. Jak had a slight headache from Daxter's shouting and what didn't help was the heat of the day, still rising as the sun beamed above them. "Nothing", Daxter said throwing a stone into the sea. "Nothing at all." Jak trudged back to the teleporter and jumped through it, Daxter following close behind.  
  
Samos had contacted the other sages and heard nothing of Keira from them. They had said that they would keep an eye out for her. In the meantime, Jak and Daxter had came straight through the teleporter and landed in a heap on the floor. "Any news?", the old man asked. Jak shook his head. "Well then, you're going to have to check Sentinel Beach and the Forbidden Jungle", Samos ordered. "The other sages have heard nothing on seen nothing of Keira so you'd better set off before dark. I suggest you look in the Jungle first as it isn't safe there at night." "What about lunch?", Daxter interrupted. Samos handed Daxter a small piece of stale bread and a water bottle. "Share it!", the sage said grumpily. "Well, why are you just standing there? GET MOVING!" Jak and Daxter jumped and walked quickly out of the door as the house shook.  
  
The jungle seemed considerably cooler than Geyser Rock as there were many trees castng shadows upon the muddy path. Several snakes hung from trees and there were jumping lurkers threatening the local wildlife. The fisherman was still there, down by the river, laughing loudly as he had been when Jak and Daxter last saw him. Infact he hadn't moved at all. (A: N Anyone playing the original Jak and Daxter not noticed that he never seems to do anything else but laugh? Weirdo...)  
  
Jak and Daxter walked on, the heat still too hot for their liking. It was highly unlikely that Keira would have come here, as she was afraid of the jungle. Daxter groaned, "Can we have lunch already? I'm dying of hunger over here!" Jak sighed and perched himself on a rock facing the ocean. Daxter pulled out the small piece of stale bread, which was a pale grey in colour, and the leather wrapped bottle out of Jak's bag. Daxter pulled a face at the sight of the bread and stuck his tongue out. "Yuck! What does Samos feed us these days. He gives us such a small amount as to starve us and have you seen this crap? It's hardly edible! Sheesh! You'd think the dried up old leaf would give us something better, wouldn't you Jak?, Jak?" Jak had jumped into the river next to where Daxter was sitting and was swimming about happily. The water was soothing after being out so many hours in the sun. He splashed Daxter playfully. Daxter was soaked from head to toe and sat there frowning as Jak laughed at him. "Stop messing about Jak!", Daxter said, obviously not impressed by Jak's antics. "Don't you want anything to eat?" Without wasting any time, Jak climbed out of the river and settled himself next to Daxter. The ottsel split the bread in half as evenly as he could, as the bread was rock hard. Daxter picked up the biggest piece and stuffed it into his mouth. Jak rolled his eyes and broke off a small piece of his half before giving the rest to Daxter. Daxter quite happily took the piece and nibbled at it. Jak grabbed the bottle and took a swig from it. He then handed it to Daxter. Jak made some movement with his hands to suggest to Daxter that they share the water half each. Daxter drank it and handed the empty bottle back to Jak. "My half was on the bottom. I had your half to get to mine!", Daxter joked. Jak laughed and refilled it in the river.  
  
After a so called "lunch", the two of them walked down to the stream to continue searching for Keira, stepping over rocks so not to get bitten by the piranha that patrolled the waters. As soon as the two were back on dry land, Jak had not noticed the incredibly large snake infront of him. "Ouch!", he yelped and Fell backwards after tossing the snake into the river next to him. The snake just hissed and swum away without a care. Daxter crawled out from underneath Jak who had landed on the ottsel clumsily. Jak looked down at his bare arm, slightly sunburnt from earlier on. There were two small cuts, about an inch away from each other, on his left forearm. The snake had clearly bit him hard and blood was oozing out of the small piercing aswell as some dark purple liquid. "Jak, that's venom. You'd better get back to Samos and FAST! That stuff could kill in hours!" Jak immediately jumped to his feet and began to run back towards the village, stumbling a bit as the venom had begun to take affect. "Take it easy buddy", Daxter said trying to slow his friend down. "Don't want you to trip, do we?"  
  
By the time Jak and Daxter had walked halfway across their village beach, Jak's vision had got very blurry and he had begun to feel faint. The wound had not sealed and was still hurting tremendously. The two friends had only reached the Major's house when Daxter had noticed his young friend trailing behind. Jak's breathing had quickened and he stopped walking. "Jak?" said Daxter. "We're almost there, it's just up those bridges. Jak?!" By the time Daxter had swung around to see just how far behind Jak was, Jak had collapsed to his knees and had fainted outside the Birdlady's house. "JAK!" Daxter shouted and ran over to his friend who was lying there, his breathing beginning to drift away.  
  
(A: N Eeek! What just happened? Sorry but I have to leave it here. Don't worry, I'll start work on the next chapter soon. Sorry to leave you in suspense, but that is what cliff-hangers are for. In the meantime, if you can spot any errors in my typing and spelling, please inform me and I'll try to correct it (my spellchecker had turned off an I can't seem to turn it back on. All I have is the AutoCorrect).  
  
Until then, see ya!) (A: N: 2 Just so you know, Jak is a personal favourite of mine and nothing really, really, really bad will happen to him in this fic! ^_~) 


	7. Escape

By the time Jak and Daxter had walked halfway across their village beach, Jak's vision had got very blurry and he had begun to feel faint. The wound had not sealed and was still hurting tremendously. The two friends had only reached the Major's house when Daxter had noticed his young friend trailing behind. Jak's breathing had quickened and he stopped walking. "Jak?" said Daxter. "We're almost there, it's just up those bridges. Jak?!" By the time Daxter had swung around to see just how far behind Jak was. Jak had collapsed to his knees and had fainted outside the Birdlady's house. "JAK!" Daxter shouted and ran over to his friend who was lying there, his breathing beginning to drift away.  
  
A: N Hi again! Scary chapter, the last one, I know. I keep jumping between Jak and Daxter and then to Keira. Which means this chapter will be about Keira. Sorry if you wanted to find out what happened to Jak -_-;;  
  
Anyway, read and review pleez! I luv to hear from you people. Here's the next chapter. Read away!  
  
Chapter 7: Escape  
  
The window idea seemed great until she had seen the size of the gap between the bars. "It's worth a shot", she said steering her eyes towards the window.  
  
She stood up and walked up to it. The bench below it was perfect for climbing up to it. She grasped her hands around two of the bars and heaved herself up onto the small ledge in front of it. The ledge was rather cold and uncomfortable, Keira couldn't sit there for too long. She rolled her body over on its side and stuck her head between the two bars. All was going well so far. She squeezed her arms through and placed them outside. "Here goes nothing", she said hopelessly as she started to push against the bars. She slipped her shoulders through fine even though it was rather tight. Next came her chest and stomach area. Her breasts only just fit and her tummy was easy. Of course, the hardest part was her hips. Being female, they were the widest part of her body. She had got half way through and was not going to give up without trying.  
  
She struggled for some time and with that huge metal belt, which wasn't helping, she couldn't get through. Keira gave a deep sigh and began to back herself through the bars. She sat on the bench examining her nails when she noticed that in her back pockets, which added to the struggle earlier, were some of her tools. She had a welder, which was useless, a spanner, not much use again and a blow torch. "Bingo!", she said loudly. The lurker guarding the place turned and ran towards her cell. "Great", she sighed and glanced down at the floor until the lurker left her alone.  
  
She waited for about ten minutes and finally the lurker guard turned its attention back to the dripping pipe at the other end of the corridor. She stood back up and turned the blowtorch on. Much to her surprise, it still worked and glowed brightly against her dark surroundings. It made her wonder if the lurker would notice this incredibly bright light. She turned to face the window and stood herself on the bench. She placed the blowtorch against the bar and heard it crackle softly. It started to get louder and the lurker had heard it. "Damn!", she shouted. She turned the blow torch off and reached into her pocket for her spanner. She ran up to the huge metal gate and threw her spanner at the lurker's head. She watched as the lurker spun round dizzily and fell to the floor unconscious. Keira smiled proudly. "Go Keira! Go Keira! Go Keira!" she chanted. "That ought to keep him busy while I get back to work." She climbed back up to the window and continued to melt her way through the bars.  
  
After many long hot minutes, the bars were glowing a bright orange. She would have to let them cool for a while if she made any attempt to bend them. She waited two minutes and pulled out some very thick gloves, which were in her other pocket, and slipped them onto her slim hands. The bars still felt warm but not intensely hot. She began to apply pressure. The bars had started to shift and were slowly bending outwards. The bars were cooling rapidly so Keira had to pull even harder. She pulled until the bars had a gap of about nine inches, which was more than she needed to climb out. Before climbing out she stepped up to the huge gate of her cell to check if the lurker was still "sleeping". The lurker was actually lying on the floor snoring quietly and dribbling at the same time. Keira giggled and crept back to the bench as not to wake the lurker. She easily fit through the gap and found herself outside in no time at all.  
  
Keira lowered herself to the ground from the window ledge. The soil was gravelly and grey in colour. There were lots of weeds and dead plants in it too. She spun herself around and looked up to see the dark castle walls towering above her. The brick was black with the occasional grey brick between the black ones. Growing up the side of the castle and covering most of its walls were thorns, huge like the ones in Boggy Swamp. She shuddered at the thought of climbing them and turned her attention to the surrounding area. She could see gardens unlike any gardens she had seen before. The fences, retaining the neglected plants, were rotting with age and had fallen over on one of the corners. The vegetables and fruits themselves were heavily overgrown and were crushing some of the fence. Keira could see pumpkins, grapevines, pear trees and many other fruits and vegetables. Next to the closed off area there stood a large olive tree which had a crack all the way down the middle of it. What made her stare was the fact that the fruit, vegetables and olive tree were black all over apart from some of the leaves which were a dark green, almost khaki. The leaves were wrinkled along the edges and were very dry. Some of them had fallen to the ground. It was like an eternity of late autumn playing over and over again but much less colourful. The sight of it made Keira feel sad inside. She was used to living in an area surrounded by beautiful landscapes and horizons, lush jungles and forests and especially the beach, visible from her bedroom window. The plants and trees were as healthy as they could be, almost making you wish that you never saw the colour green again. The sun seemed to shine all the time, apart from at night where there was a welcoming blue glow to the view. Every morning and evening there would be a breathtaking sunrise and sunset along the line where the sea met the sky. To add to that, there was never a cloud in it either!  
  
Keira couldn't help but think of this place, her home. When she glanced around she could see that where she was, it was completely opposite to the places she dreamed of. This place was so dark. It made her miss her home dreadfully. She walked away from the dead vegetable patch and leant against a tree, also black from the effect of Dark Eco. As she pressed her back against the tree trunk, she noticed bits of bark crack off it every time she touched it. She gave a slight groan and then thought about where she was. The weather was foggy for all she could see. She could barely make out the objects before her. She lifted her arm in front of her and waved it about. The mist was moist, too moist to be fog. "I wonder", she said, picking up a stone. She walked up to a visible end to where she was standing and ran her hand along its jagged edge, parts of it crumbling when she did so. However, she didn't hear the parts land. She raised the stone she was carrying above her head and threw it down as hard as she could. She lay down and waited for a noise. Still nothing was heard so she went to look for something bigger and heavier. Keira found a rock and had to roll it along the ground because of its tremendous weight. Eventually when she reached the edge again she kicked it off and waited for a sound. After about ten seconds only the slightest sound could be heard. A very slight "splash" was made. "I must be at least two hundred feet up in the air. And this fog isn't fog, it's cloud! I AM IN A CASTLE IN THE CLOUDS!  
  
She sat and pondered for a while. After a few minutes she started to get suspicious. "It seems too quiet. Who would have a castle as big as this and not have any sort of protection surrounding it. There are no guards at all." She remembered a dream she had - a castle in the clouds. But this castle wasn't like the one in her dreams at all. It was totally different.  
  
"Where am I?" she whispered. She heard a rustle followed by a loud "thump!" Keira's heart thumped as she felt and inquisitive spark inside of her. She went to investigate. 


	8. Recovering

She sat and pondered for a while. After a few minutes she started to get suspicious. "It seems too quiet. Who would have a castle as big as this and not have any sort of protection surrounding it. There are no guards at all." She remembered a dream she had - a castle in the clouds. But this castle wasn't like the one in her dreams at all. It was totally different.  
  
"Where am I?" she whispered. She heard a rustle followed by a loud "thump!" Keira's heart thumped as she felt and inquisitive spark inside of her. She went to investigate.  
  
A: N Hiya everybody! Sorry this chapter has been a long time. In the meantime I have broken my leg, had two teeth extracted (more going soon) and I have been worrying about my exams in three years! talk about being paranoid  
  
Thankyou Mandypandaa and Krimson Yakkow26 for your reviews.  
  
Oh well, here's the next part. R&R if you can... ENJOY!!!  
  
Chapter 8: Recovering  
  
Samos flew over to Daxter immediately. (A:N literally flying! He does tend to do that...Ahem!) He picked Jak up with ease and threw him over his shoulder, with no respect at all. Daxter stood there with nothing to say, (that doesn't occur too often.) Daxter felt a breeze blow past him as Samos rushed to his hut. "Um...yeah, thanks, I guess." Daxter said, watching the old man disappear with his best friend. "Yo! Log-head! Wait up!". Daxter followed Samos back. "Do you think the wumpbees came back?", the Bird Lady asked the Sculptor.  
  
Unfortunately, everyone in the village wanted to see if Jak was all right. So that meant that Daxter was trodden on a few times as the villagers gave a mad dash to Samos's hut. "Why does everything happen to me?" wailed Daxter as he made him way, slowly back to the hut.  
  
When Daxter reached it, the villagers were crowded round the door, talking among themselves. Daxter, of course, was too small to see anything and had to squeeze between the villagers' legs. Inside, Jak was lying on Samos's bed (when I checked on the game, he didn't have one but in this fic, he does!). The bed was considerably more comfortable than Jak's own and much higher as well. "Green Eco is a wondrous substance, why without it Jak would not be here right now", Samos said humbly.  
  
Daxter waited several long hours before Jak even stirred. He lay there motionless apart from his breathing making his chest move gently up and down. Daxter was staring out of the window, watching the sun dip behind the horizon and the green sun making its way into the night's sky. Daxter jumped and turned around. Jak had made a slight groan and was tossing and turning in the bed. Daxter made out that Jak was dreaming and not a very nice one at that. He jumped onto the table next to the bed and put the damp cloth, which had fallen from Jak's forehead, back on his head.  
  
Jak was in a weird room. The walls were black and all he could see was the bed he was lying on. The background was spiralling and soon his vision was clouded. It was like he was being sucked into a vortex or a black hole. When everything had cleared he found himself in a familiar place. It was Geyser Rock! Everything seemed fine and perfectly normal. He continued to walk around until something caught him in the corner of his eye. He could see footprints. Those of which had a large flat part and what looked like a large toe, a gap and then a group of four other toes. They looked just like small, feet in sandals, rather like Keira's. He continued to look around and found footprints different to Keira's. These footprints had a heel to them. There was also evidence of another's feet but the evidence was very faint. There were a few scratches on the tree nearby and a small puddle of Dark Eco. It was then that it struck Jak. The footprints belonged to Gol and Maia! They must have kidnapped Keira. The background went blurry again and Jak was back in the bed again, in the same dark room. He could see a figure appearing through the blackness. It was Keira! She sat down on the bed next to him and gently touched his cheek. He extended a hand to reach hers but the dream ended and he woke up in Samos's bed.  
  
"Keira!" Jak shouted. Daxter jumped and hit his head on the exceptionally low ceiling. "Hey buddy, since when could you speak?", Daxter said, rubbing his head. Jak opened his mouth again but nothing came out. "Just a one off time, hey Jak", Daxter said turning towards the window again. "The dream...", Jak whispered. "It was Gol and Maia. Gol and Maia kidnapped her!"  
  
A: N Well, I'm done! R&R if you could pleeez! Bye bye for now! 


	9. Recaptured

"Keira!" Jak shouted. Daxter jumped and hit his head on the exceptionally low ceiling. "Hey buddy, since when could you speak?", Daxter said, rubbing his head. Jak opened his mouth again but nothing came out. "Just a one off time, hey Jak", Daxter said turning towards the window again. "The dream...", Jak whispered. "It was Gol and Maia. Gol and Maia kidnapped her!"  
  
A: N Hiya again everybody! Boy, do I hate exams! Anyway I have found the time to write the next chappie for you all!  
  
Chapter 9: Recaptured  
  
The "thump" was only too distinct. Keira could feel and hear the sound waves bounce along each castle wall. It echoed off each of the narrow stained glass windows making a slight ringing noise as it did. She had never noticed the stain glass windows before. To her they were a splash of colour against the grey and gloomy background. They reminded her of the ever so colourful Sandover Village, where she lived.  
  
Keira wondered how long it had been since she had left Samos, Daxter and especially Jak. She stared into the misty sky. It was noticeably darker so she figured it was getting later in the evening. She closed her eyes and imagined her home once more. The trees swaying in the ocean breeze, the soft sand beneath her tender feet. It was all too good.  
  
Keira's eyes shot open when she heard a "clank" and another "thump" coming from behind her. She turned around and crept slowly to the castle wall. She pressed her back to the brickwork and shivered as a wave of cold and fear spread up her spine. She leaned sideways and shot a glance round the other side of the wall. She looked up where the top of the wall was and watched as a small, three-sided hook was thrown in one of the gaps. She then moved back behind the wall as she saw a long rope drape down to her level. Her heart started to pound furiously against her chest. As curiosity took over her, she poked her had round the corner once more to see more ropes and hooks appear. Several black figures dropped swiftly and silently, down onto the ground. She suddenly realised that the "thump" earlier was another of these people and that they must be lurking around the castle grounds, looking for her.  
  
She began to run. The footsteps were close behind her, she could hear them quite loudly now. She figured that they were guards and were out to recapture her. She frowned, as she thought of all the precious time she had wasted, escaping, earlier.  
  
Keira ran and ran, her pace slowing as she became more tired. It didn't help being foggy either, as she couldn't see far in front of her. She kept worrying that she would trip or fall. Unfortunately, it was far worse than that. She had put her foot in thin air as she had reached the edge of the floating castle ground. She screamed as she slipped but somehow managed to break her fall by holding onto the ledge above her. Keira gave a short sigh of relief as she placed her other hand on the ledge and heaved herself onto it. She sat down, trying to recover herself and looked to see if she had hurt anything. Her hands were shaking all over from shock and the one she had caught herself was bleeding in the centre of her palm.  
  
"I'm ok, I'm ok, I'm ok", she repeated, rather relieved. "I'M OK!", she shouted, beaming from cheek to cheek. She turned around to move herself away from the edge only to meet the eyes of one of the guards.  
  
His expression was blank and his eyes were colourless with no shine, as though he was being hypnotised. His face was grey but had dark purple streaks across it. She watched, almost in a trance as the guard extended a hand on her shoulder, close to her neck. Her senses returned as she realised what was happening. Keira gave a sheepish grin and felt the grip on her shoulder tighten.  
  
She watched her surroundings go completely black and her vision went in a spiral. She felt her body go weak and limp. Everything went black as she went unconscious.  
  
The guard stood up, flung Keira over his shoulder and carried her inside the castle.  
  
A: N Oh no! Poor Keira!  
  
Please review soon! I'll write the next chappie after I have finished my exams! See ya then!! 


	10. Purple Eco and a Confession

His expression was blank and his eyes were colourless with no shine, as though he was being hypnotised. His face was grey but had dark purple streaks across it. She watched, almost in a trance as the guard extended a hand on her shoulder, close to her neck. Her senses returned as she realised what was happening. Keira gave a sheepish grin and felt the grip on her shoulder tighten.  
  
She watched her surroundings go completely black and her vision went in a spiral. She felt her body go weak and limp. Everything went black as she went unconscious.  
  
The guard stood up, flung Keira over his shoulder and carried her inside the castle.  
  
A: N Hiya everybody! This is a long one people, but it is long and probably better than the other chapters I have written. (I thought up the rest of the story while watching Star Wars the other night. Don't worry the chapter has nothing to do with it! It was just another random thought). Anyway, I have talked for too much now and I bet you are dying to know the next part of the story.  
  
I would like to thank Flaming red dragon for reviewing! (Is that all? UU)  
  
Enjoy!  
  
Chapter 10: Purple Eco and a Confession  
  
It was sunrise. The birds were singing and a warm breeze gently stroked the young ottsel's fur. "Aaaah" he sighed peacefully, stretching out and dragging his sharp ottsel claws along the wooden floorboards. Daxter yawned and sat up. He could see Jak, fully healed, thanks to the wonders of Green Eco. The boy was lying half in, half out of his bed with his head on the floor. Daxter could hear his gentle breathing and smiled. At least his friend was not up all night, groaning because of pain anymore. No, Jak was just fine and ready to start searching for Keira again. This time, Jak knew where he was going.  
  
Daxter glanced outside. He could see Samos still talking to the grass and trees as he had been all night. The ottsel pulled a face and shuddered. He could tell Samos was worried about his daughter, Keira, and who wouldn't be? Something else was bothering Daxter. People who have had hardly any sleep for ages are usually grumpy. Big deal. But when that person is someone like Samos, you'd better watch it!  
  
"DAXTER!" Samos bellowed. Daxter frowned and slowly made his way outside. " I see you are awake quite early this fine morning, Daxter, which means you'll be making breakfast. See you later. Oh! And don't forget to wake Jak up". "Yes Sir!" Daxter teased.  
  
Jak was still sleeping how Daxter had left him but was now faintly snoring. "Don't forget to wake Jak up, Daxter. Don't forget to wake up precious little Jakkie, Daxter. Daxter do this, Daxter do that" the ottsel muttered as he walked slowly towards Jak. He picked up the broom next to the wall and prodded Jak in the stomach, which made Jak roll completely off the bed and onto the floor. A loud "thump" was heard. Daxter continued walking to the kitchen but paused when he heard Jak, still snoring. "Oh Brother" he sighed as he grabbed the broom and gave Jak a hard thump on the head. Jak sat up and frowned at Daxter. "Had to do it! Samos's orders!" Daxter said with a rather proud look on his face. He marched out of the room smiling but stopped when Jak burst into a fit of laughter. "Well, I glad to see someone's happy this morning. So, tell me, what's so funny?" Daxter said shooting a demanding look at Jak's face. Jak pointed at Daxter, before giggling again. "Yeah, yeah, yeah" Daxter said walking off. He turned to the mirror in the kitchen to check if what Jak had been laughing at was on his face. Sure enough it was. Daxter didn't know if it was even possible for and ottsel to get zits but there was one exceedingly large one on the left of his forehead. The ottsel stopped with a look of horror on his face and screamed. "Aaaaaaaaah! Jak, why didn't you tell me!" Jak just folded his arms and gave a look as to say "duh". Daxter sighed and made a start on the cooking, mumbling as he did so. "Guess who's helping me cook this morning? Yes, that's you Jak!" Daxter turned around to see leaves, which Daxter didn't sweep up, twirling about on the floor and seconds later, there followed a small "splash" noise. Jak had obviously ran out the door and jumped in the sea at Daxter's request for helping him. "Fine, if that's how you want it to be" Daxter said as he turned to face the table. He grinned evilly to himself. "Ha ha ha ha!"  
  
When breakfast was ready, Samos (grumpy as usual) and Jak (soaking wet and bringing in half a dozen starfish) sat down at the table. Daxter had a very smug look on his face, which made everyone feel uncomfortable. Daxter fetched the breakfast from the worktop and dumped it in front of them. Daxter, as a protest of being ordered around, had burnt the toast so it was a small heap of soot! Samos turned red (if that's possible for a green person) and turned Daxter into a fern! Jak paid no attention and ate his breakfast with no fuss.  
  
After five minutes, Samos turned Daxter back into his usual form (ottsel form, that is). Jak immediately started giggling at Daxter's zit again. "What? Have you never seen one before, or something?" Daxter remarked. Jak just leaned back in is chair continuing his laughter. "Ha ha ha!" Daxter said, mocking Jak. "That boy has a zit on his head! Ha ha ah! I'm so stupid, I haven't even noticed that swimming in the sea has given me a starfish on my nose! Ha aha ha, ha!" Daxter stopped, waiting for Jak's reaction. Jak removed the starfish from his nose. He looked at it but burst into hysterics. "Someone's hyper this morning" Daxter muttered. Samos glared at the ottsel. "What? He is though!" Daxter said trying to look innocent. Samos sighed and hit Jak on th head with his stick. Jak squeaked and sat up.  
  
"Now is the time to be serious, boys! Samos said. "My daughter is somewhere out there and you clowns better start looking! I'll be up at the lookout tower while you two continue your search! GET TO IT!"  
  
And with that, Jak and Daxter set of outside. "Oh! And Jak, don't go back in the jungle. I managed to save you from the snake bite but next time it will be fatal!" Samos shouted at Jak. Jak nodded seriously and caught up with Daxter. Next came the hard task of telling Daxter where Keira was kidnapped. Being a mute this was going to be extremely frustrating...  
  
Jak stopped which made Daxter turn around. The boy beckoned and Daxter came to him. Jak crouched to get the ottsel's attention fully and pointed to himself. "I.." Daxter acknowledged. Jak pointed to his head. "Oh! I am stupid! Ah, don't worry Jak I already knew that!" Daxter joked. Jak sighed and flashed his fingers above his head. "A light bulb...an idea! You have an idea!" Jak nodded. He waved towards Geyser Rock and Daxter followed him. The two of them took the teleporter to the small island, landing uncomfortably on the other side. Jak stood up and walked to the place he saw in his dream, near the top of the hill. He found the footprints exactly where they had been in the dream and pointed at them. Daxter rushed over and studied them. Jak made a "K" sign with his hands. "You think these are Keira's?" Daxter asked. Jak nodded. Daxter leaned over and sniffed the footprints. "Buddy, I think you may be onto something" Daxter said getting excited, awaiting Jka's next gesture. Jak pointed to some other footprints next to Keira's. There were two more unique footprints, both different from Keira's. "Who d'ya think these belong to?" Daxter asked. Jak shrugged. Daxter sniffed the footprints again with his very accurate ottsel sense of smell. "The scent is familiar but I can't work out where from" Daxter said. Jak stared at him with a desperate look on his face. Daxter stood up. "Let's go and tell Samos! Oh! But one thing" Daxter said looking suspicious. Jak looked confused and ran towards the sand. He wrote the word "dream" in it. Daxter immediately understood. "So that's why you shouted "Keira" at the top of your voice!" Jak nodded again, this time smiling. "Ok, so now we really have to tell Samos! Not just about the footprints but about your subconscious link with Keira!" Daxter ran back down the hill and jumped through the teleporter. Jak followed.  
  
"Samos! Samos! Samos! We found Keira's footprints! Uh...I mean Jak found Keira's footprints!" Daxter bellowed. "Slow down Daxter!" Samos shouted over Daxter's voice. "Ok, Jak found Keira's footprints in some sand on the top of the hill at Geyser Rock and he also spotted two other pairs of footprints. Oh! And their scent was familiar in a bad way! What was weird was that how Jak knew where to go. I mean, he told me to go there and said that his dream told him" Daxter explained. "So Daxter" Samos said, "Your telling me that Jak has somehow got a link with Keira, but only in his subconscious, yes?" "Right!" Daxter exclaimed. Jak looked even more confused. "I have something you should try, Jak" Samos said turning to a cabinet on the wall. He pulled out a jar, which was glowing a pale purple. "This, ahem, is a new substance us sages have discovered recently" Said Samos. "It is called "Purple Eco" and when inhaled can send you to your subconscious. Only, there is one difference, When you are asleep, you have complete control over what you see or do. It is also your responsibility to wake up afterwards. The exit to the dream will appear as a black key. Find it and you shall wake up. If not you shall remain asleep until you do. Am I clear?" Jak nodded, looking slightly worried. "The method of using this is quite risky. Inhale too much and you will suffer! All you have to do is breath normally and gently breathe in the substance" Samos warned. Jak started to shake nervously. "Jak, you have a natural talent for using Eco, so if you put you mind to it, the operation will be a success. Ok?" Jak nodded, still shaking. "Here's what you have to do" Samos began, "once asleep you, using your special link, as discovered today, have to somehow contact Keira. I want you to tell her everything is fine and that we are well. You have to tell her that you are coming to rescue her in due time. Tell her to wait patiently and not do anything that will put her at risk. Tell her to sit tight and hold on because "Daddy's" a coming!" Samos was now staring up at the sky as if he was living his life long dream. This came as a surprise to Jak and Daxter for they had never seen this side of Samos's personality before. Daxter stared at Jak as if to say, "this guy has gone nuts!" Jak laughed.  
  
Samos put on a serious face and walked towards Jak with the jar of Purple Eco. Jak backed away nervously but Samos grabbed him by the arm. "Daxter, Leave the room! We wouldn't want the effects to happen on you, would we?" Samos ordered. Daxter shrieked like a little girl and hid outside the front door. "I, as a sage, am not affected" Samos said proudly. He held the jar in front of Jak's face. "Now remember, Jak, breath normally and look out for the black key" Samos repeated. He opened the jar and held it in front of himself as far as possible. The Eco seeped out of the jar like smoke. Jak inhaled it slowly and slowly collapsed onto the floor. With haste, Samos sealed the jar and shoved it back in the cabinet. He dusted his hands off and called Daxter back in. Daxter came in through the front door and sat by his friend who was breathing and had a very relaxed expression on his face. Daxter sighed in relief as Samos lifted the slim, young boy with ease and lifted him into a bed.  
  
The place was dark and empty. Jak had suddenly appeared in another dimension. He coughed but there was no echo to be heard, nor was there a breeze to be felt. He floated about for a bit looking round, wondering what he could do. He could fly but could he speak? He opened his mouth and a small sound came out. He leaped into the air, for he had never felt a deliberate sound leave his mouth before. Jak messed around for a little longer, admiring his voice and finally set out to do what he was supposed to be doing.  
  
He flew around for a long while, looking for anything that stood out apart from the vortexes that appeared quite commonly. Finally, something caught his attention. There was a pale green door marked with the word "Keira" on it. Naturally, being his inquisitive self, Jak opened the door to find himself in the beautiful world of Keira's mind.  
  
It was a vast open landscape with forests, beaches fields, exotic birds and fruit. Basically it was a paradise. A place she visited in her dreams. Jak also noticed a worn away sign in a dark corner by a dead tree. The sign read: NIGHTMARE PASSAGE. Jak backed away promptly and began to look for Keira.  
  
Jak wandered about, breathing in the fresh air and rolling in the lush grass. He stopped when he caught something at the corner of his eye. It was a very familiar figure sitting behind a waterfall. Jak walked closer soon to find that this person was Keira.  
  
She appeared more beautiful than ever in this place, wearing a long, pale blue dress, her teal green hair glistening with the reflections from the water. Jak was mesmerised by this image and walked ever closer to this beautiful figure. She spotted him and flicked her hair behind her ear. She smiled sweetly and shyly turned her head. Jak walked up to her and sat down next to her. He smiled back. "Hello" she said gently and moved closer to him. "Hi" said Jak, nervously, as he had never spoken to a girl of anyone before. His voice appeared soft and sweet compared to other boys of his age. It was also quite high pitched for his age. Keira blushed and rested against his side. Her emerald eyes stared up at his. Jak smiled warmly. Keira closed her eyes and sighed. "I have never seen you here before" she remarked curiously, "How did you get here?" She stared into his tanned face longing for an answer. "I...um, well...it's a long story" the blonde replied, "I am actually here to tell you something, you know, or you should know, that you have been captured by someone or something", he explained. "I am here to pass on a message from your father, Samos." Keira jumped excitedly, "what did he say?" she asked. "He said not to worry and stay put. He doesn't want you to do anything that would put you in danger. You see, this isn't the real world; this is your mind, ok? I will be coming, as soon as possible, to rescue you. Your Dad says not to worry." Jak blushed a little. "You're coming to rescue me in the real world?" Keira asked, looking confused. "That's right," Jak said back. "My hero!" said Keira. She pushed Jak further back into the grass. He laughed and got up, running out into the fields. Keira followed playfully.  
  
"That place, Nightmare Passage. Have you ever been there?" the blonde asked. "I only go there after having a disturbing day. I'll bet you have a place in your mind where nightmares dwell also" replied Keira. Jak sighed. Keira jumped on him, knocking him over into the grass. The two of them rolled around for ages. The grass gently brushed their skin and clothes. Both teens were now damp all over because of the refreshing dew that covered the velvet soil, the dew looking like small gems. Jak had never seen this side of her personality. She was more playful than ever. Keira rolled over Jak and pinned him to the grass, giggling. She lowered herself and rubbed noses with him. Jak laughed but stopped when Keira, unexpectedly, pressed her lips against his. The two of them stayed there for a while enjoying this new emotional sensation but had to break apart so they could breathe. Jak and Keira lay there, panting. She rolled over beside him. The blonde sat up and breathed deeply. Keira ran her fingers through his soft, clean hair and sighed. Jak embraced her. "I love you" Keira said dreamily. Jak turned bright pink, but managed to reply, "Me too" he said softly. "I hate to break up, but I have to return to reality and save you." Jak watched as a small tear left her eyelid. "Goodbye" she said sadly. Jak hugged her and walked slowly to the door in which he had entered. "Bye" he said as he closed the door behind him.  
  
He was back in the dimension that he visited earlier, but this time, he had to search for a black key in this blanket of darkness. He wandered for what felt like an eternity until he saw something in the distance. There it was a black key, covered in small diamonds and crystals. He approached a door marked "exit" a put the key in the keyhole. As if by magic the key fit perfectly and Jak went through this vortex. He felt himself spiralling downwards until he could see an outline of his body. He slipped into it and awoke in a bed, back in Samos's hut.  
  
Jak yawned and listened. There was silence. Stepped out of bed and crept along the floorboards. He peered around the doorframe. The whole living area was trashed. The furniture had been knocked over, broken plates and bowls littered the floor. Jak tried to shout but nothing came out. He deliberately kicked a plate on the floor to see if anything would react...  
  
...nothing.  
  
Not even a whisper. Tears met Jak's eyes as he stared around the room, in its wrecked state. There had obviously been some sort of struggle earlier, while he had been in his sub conscious. Suddenly, he heard this rustle coming from the corner at the far end of the room. "Jak? Is that you?" small voice said. "Daxter?" Jak managed to force out. "Jak!" Daxter shrieked as he jumped out of the flowerpot he had been hiding in. Jak looked around. "Oh, right" Daxter said, looking worried. "Me and Samos were sitting by your bed, waiting for you to wake up when we heard this crash! Samos went in the other room to find out what it was. I followed being my brave self! IT WAS GOL AND MAIA! Samos tried to fight them but it was no use, they were using Dark Eco in ways that we have never seen! I tried to help of course..." Daxter trailed off when he saw Jak with an expression on his face that meant "yeah, of course you did" and the fact that he was pointing to Daxter's little hiding place; the flowerpot in the corner. "Ah, all except for that last part, hey buddy!" Daxter said cowering.  
  
Jak ran outside. It was lashing down with rain and a storm was brewing up. Daxter followed outside. "Uh Jak? You better take a look at this!" Daxter screamed. Jak looked up to see two dark figures heading towards him. It was Gol and Maia! The two of them settled on the ground in front of the boy and the ottsel. "Well hello, Jak!" Gol cackled. "So good to see you again! We have just managed to escape from a little situation, let's say" Maia teased, "I'm sure you remember the day you trapped us in the Silos!" Jak scowled at them. "Ah yes! The Silos!" Gol laughed. "I'll bet you had thought you had got rid of us forever, by trapping us in there. FOOLS! Ever since the lid of the Silos was closed, we have been growing stronger and stronger! Ha ha ha aha ha!" "Oh! We forgot to mention Samos and your dear Keira. Don't worry about your friends, they are perfectly safe!" Maia taunted. "Oh! And as a thank you, we have left you a little surprise!" "Will we like it?" Daxter said sarcastically. "Let's just say" Gol joked, "IT'S TO DIE FOR!" "Uh... Jak?" Daxter said looking behind him, "you're not going to like this!" "Have fun!" Gol and Maia laughed.  
  
Jak turned around and gasped in horror as he saw a giant wave of Dark Eco heading straight for him and the village!  
  
A: N Pleeeeez review this chapter! It took me days to write it! Hope y'all liked it! SEE YA SOON! Keep reviewing and I'll keep writing!  
  
BYE! 


	11. Imprisoned

Jak ran outside. It was lashing down with rain and a storm was brewing up. Daxter followed outside.

"Uh Jak? You better take a look at this!" Daxter screamed. Jak looked up to see two dark figures heading towards him. It was Gol and Maia! The two of them settled on the ground in front of the boy and the ottsel.

"Well hello, Jak!" Gol cackled.

"So good to see you again! We have just managed to escape from a little situation, let's say" Maia teased, "I'm sure you remember the day you trapped us in the Silos!"

Jak scowled at them.

"Ah yes! The Silos!" Gol laughed. "I'll bet you had thought you had got rid of us forever, by trapping us in there. FOOLS! Ever since the lid of the Silos was closed, we have been growing stronger and stronger! Ha ha ha aha ha!"

"Oh! We forgot to mention Samos and your dear Keira. Don't worry about your friends, they are perfectly safe!" Maia taunted. "Oh! And as a thank you, we have left you a little surprise!"

"Will we like it?" Daxter said sarcastically.

"Let's just say" Gol joked, "IT'S TO DIE FOR!"

"Uh... Jak?" Daxter said looking behind him, "you're not going to like this!"

"Have fun!" Gol and Maia laughed.

Jak turned around and gasped in horror as he saw a giant wave of Dark Eco heading straight for him and the village!

A: N Hi everyone! Sorry about the wait but I've got several other fics on the go! Don't worry, 'coz here is the next chappie!

By the way, if you are unsure with some of the different types of Eco, it is because I invented them.

Thanks go to shaunamitchell, J (that's my brother), Glorfindel Silverleaf, Total-Jewel and Flaming red dragon for reviewing!

All reviews will be appreciated and smiled at!

Read away people!

Chapter 11: Imprisoned

He could see it on the horizon, a huge mass of lethal Dark Eco heading straight for Sandover. Jak knew that everyone would be either killed or left in a terrible state like Daxter who had fallen in a vat of Dark Eco not so long ago and transformed into a half otter, half weasel, therefore known as an ottsel. Of course, it was Jak's fault but Daxter didn't seem to mind apart from the fact that Keira does not date animals!

Jak recovered from his state of shock and bolted back to Samos' hut. He knew that Samos kept all kinds Eco in a cupboard, to the back of the hut. He had told Jak and Daxter particularly, not to go in. This, however, was an emergency so he figured that he would be allowed to go in.

Jak already had a basic understanding of combining Eco. Sadly what he would need to do was rather advanced. It was that or a tragedy.

Outside Daxter was still staring at the wave of Dark Eco.

"Jak! It's coming faster! Get a move on!" Daxter yelled as he felt the first slight of vibration underneath his furry feet.

Jak was now in the cupboard looking at all the jars of Eco. He remembered his first fight against Gol and Maia and had learnt that White Eco was slightly stronger than its dark counterpart.

He rummaged through the cupboard even further and did find a large jar of White Eco. It was surely enough to protect Daxter and himself, even possibly, Keira and Samos as well. It wouldn't be able to protect a whole village from destruction or even death.

Jak would need a lot more White Eco if he were to be able to save the other villagers.

And then it struck him. He would have to mix different Eco together to make the correct type. To be exact, mixing Red, Yellow, Green and Blue Eco would give him White Eco.

As a result, Jak crawled deeper into the cupboard to search for the four different colours.

It had been a total of five minutes before Jak emerged from the cupboard, holding two large jars. One with a blue glow and the other with a yellow glow.

Daxter came running in.

"Jak! I'd say it's only a couple of miles away. What's the freakin' hold up? The villagers are really panicking and that sculptor dude is driving me insane, running round the place with his arms in the air and screaming like a woman! Even I'm not that bad. Sheesh!"

Jak shushed the ottsel and put his hands to the floor, listening. He could hear a tiny rumble and the ground was disturbed.

Daxter turned to look out of the window. Jak dived back in to the cupboard to look for the two remaining Ecos.

"Uh oh! I think it shifted into overdrive!" the ottsel screamed. It was true. The Eco wave had begun to speed up. Jak moved out of the cupboard, banging his head in the process. He stood up and ran towards the window, rubbing his head. It was just as he had feared. He now had less time to figure out the Eco problems he had.

Jak literally threw himself back in to the cupboard. He resumed searching for any signs of a read or green glow.

"Yes!" he shouted victoriously, banging his head on the roof of the cupboard yet again. It was one of those rare moments when Jak said anything, making Daxter jump.

"By the looks of it, judging by the speed, I'd you've got about ten minutes!" Daxter said, still glancing out of the window. Jak could hear that he was concerned by the tone of his voice and by the way his ears had dropped down the side of his head. The ottsel bowed his head and sat down in the corner, his arms around his legs.

"Face it" he sighed "we're gonna die" he said, pessimistically, looking at Jak who was still hopelessly ferreting around for Green Eco.

After another minute, Jak emerged from the cupboard, driven to complete exasperation.

How could the Green Sage not have Green Eco?

Jak stood up and pushed the three jars towards Daxter. The boy immediately stood up and ran down the ramp to Keira's level of the hut. Daxter heard the A-GraV Zoomer start up. He stood up and ran to the door.

"Whoa! Wait a minute, Jak! Where are you going? Now is not the time for a joyride, you moron!"

Jak shook his head and drove the Zoomer over the edge and over the sea, which had now got several dark purple streaks seeping through it's silvery blue shimmer. The Dark Eco would be coming sooner than later.

"Jak! Come back!" Daxter shouted at him but it was obvious that Jak couldn't hear him. "Oh well! He's right. You better make them most of life as you've only got eight more minutes to live. The ottsel ran back inside to claw Samos' favourite chair.

Meanwhile, Jak was heading to Sentinel Beach. He knew that there were Green Eco vents on the far side of it. He glided swiftly across its soft sands until he skidded to a halt by an Eco vent. The Eco was flowing brightly as normal. Jak picked up a jar and placed his hand over the vent. He watched as one of his cuts on his fingers, healed up in seconds. He smiled and placed the jar over the vent, standing in it at the same time.

Jak then became aware of the time and mounted the Zoomer. He twisted the accelerator and sped off once more.

Daxter was still clawing Samos's chair, which was now in a right tattered state. He was purring gently as if all his troubles were gone. But deep down inside he was worried sick about what a second helping of Dark Eco would do to him. He had already had a nasty accident and knew what it felt like to be covered in its liquid form.

It felt like his skin was being torn from his body and his insides were melting. It burned against his face. He truly, at that stage, wanted to die. The pain was THAT BAD!

Daxter shuddered and a cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

He sat in the corner, hunched up, for the awaited return of his best friend. Five minutes and counting. He waited and waited for the substance to arrive and destroy him completely.

Jak drove fiercely over the sea, which was getting rougher, until he arrived at Samos's hut and, hastily, parked the Zoomer outside. He knew that it couldn't possibly withstand the danger that was approaching.

He ran upstairs and sighed at the mess Daxter had made of Samos's favourite chair. He was obviously in much distress. Jak shook his head and ran to the cupboard. He pulled out a jar of Orange Eco, Silver Eco and Gold Eco. He had been told, briefly, about their powers:

Orange Eco was to melt objects with your bare hands.

Silver Eco was to form a bubble around you or something else but would require another type of Eco to determine what the bubble is made of.

Gold Eco was to paralyse someone or something temporarily.

For this particular danger, he needed a bubble of White Eco, which is resistant to Dark Eco. This meant he had to mix Red, Yellow, Green and Blue Eco for the White and then combine it with Silver Eco.

Jak got to work right away. He started mixing for the White substance.

Daxter stood up and walked over to Jak who looked determined to beat the wave. Daxter noticed this and felt a tiny splash of confidence inside him. He smiled and handed Jak the Silver Eco jar. Jak combined the two to make a silver crystal, small enough to fit in the hand. He put the leftover Eco jars inside his bag on his back.

Jak looked questionably at Daxter who walked over to the window once more.

"One minute" he said jumping on Jak's shoulder. He took a deep breath and walked, briskly, outside. This was it.

Jak had been taught that it wasn't necessarily the amount of Eco that mattered. It was also the strength and the energy of the "channeller". A channeller is a gifted person able to let Eco flow through their body. Jak was one of these rare people.

He stared up at the wave, which looked considerably bigger than it did earlier. He could feel the trembling weight on his shoulder and could hear the villagers panicking.

Jak ran to the centre of the village and studied the wave. It would take everything he'd got to even stand a chance against it but it was that or nothing.

He took one last deep breath and held one arm above his head. He clenched the Silver Eco crystal and felt it melt in his hand. He felt a weird sensation throughout his body, which meant the Eco had taken effect.

He opened his hand out so that he could let out a long beam of silvery light over the treetops. The beam spread out to form a bubble over the village. Its sides fell like a blanket. The villagers all went silent.

Daxter looked down at his friend who seemed to be getting tired from using this much. Daxter knew that just using Blue Eco was tiring on it's own, but five different types of Eco at the same time must be exhausting.

"Three...two...one" Daxter whispered, covering his mouth with his hands as he heard the Dark Eco wave crash down on top of the silver Eco shield.

Jak let out a weak groan as he struggled to keep the shield wall up. He felt himself fall to his knees but retained concentration.

He staggered to his feet and began to run to the other side of the village to keep that side covered as the wave had passed overhead and one side of the village was safe.

Jak's run slowed down as he struggled to maintain his endurance. He had made it to the other side of the village but still had to divert the wave well past it, out in the waters. He held the shield above the village for a little longer, before making a smaller one for himself and Daxter, to protect them while they were out swimming Eco infested sea.

Daxter kept glancing at Jak who looked absolutely overworked by the amounts of Eco he was using. His eyes were half closed and they weren't focusing properly. There was nothing the ottsel could do. Jak was going to faint at some point and all he could do was watch. He leant over and tapped Jak on the top of his head. Jak turned his head to look at his best friend and smiled drowsily before his head lolled to one side and he fell forward.

Daxter began to panic. He shook Jak's shoulders to try and wake him up but it was no use. Jak had fallen unconscious. Daxter stared over his shoulder only to catch a glimpse of the wave about to hit the two of them. He hunched his shoulders and shut his eyes, knowing that it would be over very soon.

He felt the wave crash down on top of him, pulling him under the water. He remained in the same position for a moment until he realised that he was still alive and well. He looked above his head and saw the protective shield still around him and Jak...

Jak...

Was he ok?

He turned towards his friend and found himself completely relieved by the expression on Jak's face.

He had a very weak, but confident smile. Somehow he had managed to keep the shield up, even when unconscious. Or had he been unconscious in the first place?

"You all right, Dax?" he murmured, softly. His skin was paler than usual and his voice sounded unstable. He smiled once more before collapsing again.

At least they were on a bit of land. It was a small island about ten feet long. It had small patches of sand and a little tuft of grass although most of it was rock. Daxter moved Jak onto the grass. The boy had a couple of scars on his face and a bruise on his arm but other than that, he looked relatively fine. The colour in his cheeks was returning as well.

Daxter lowered himself onto the sand and sighed, deeply. All he could see was water, water and more water. He had also noticed that it was becoming increasingly cold all of a sudden and he could see his breath in front of his hands. A thick fog was emerging.

"Jak? Jak! JAK!" He heard his friend stir slightly. Daxter ran over to him. "Jak, the tide is coming in. There will be nothing left of this "island" soon. We have to get a move on."

Jak opened his eyes and sat up. He yawned and looked around.

Where in the world were they supposed to go?

There was nothing but sea for miles.

Jak's vision recovered and he could see properly again. He continued to look around in all directions.

Finally, something caught his eye. He could make out a slight silhouette in the distance. He grabbed Daxter by his waist and threw him onto his armour shoulder plate.

"Hey! Careful with the goods, buddy!" Daxter shouted.

Jak jumped into the water and began to swim to the dim outline. The water was utterly icy. In a hot summer, this freaked both of them out.

Jak approached the object. Much to his surprise, it was a rope ladder. He tilted his head in thought and then motivated himself to start climbing.

The rungs seemed to go on forever. Jak was tired and to make matters worse, he had a thick layer of snow and ice forming on his bare arms and shoulders. The ottsel next to him was freezing and had ice in his fur. He was all huddled up and was shivering. Jak picked the ottsel up and held him against his chest. He proceeded to climb.

It must have been about thirty minutes before they reached the top. Jak was frozen and was all hunched up, still clasping Daxter. The boy knelt down in the snow. He tried to make out where exactly he was. All he could see, through the blizzard around them, was a giant castle-like fortress. Its walls were jet black and it had only a few stained glass windows. It seemed hardly welcoming.

Jak's ears picked up a slight rustling in the snow. It sounded almost like footsteps. Jak wrapped his arms around him as he felt another icy blast of wind whip his sides.

The thing he had heard was now standing in front of him. It looked like a man. He was heavily dressed (which was sensible, considering the weather) and his skin was almost a dark purple.

The man seized Jak by the collar and held him off the ground. Jak struggled but found himself staring into the eyes of this stranger. He felt almost sympathetic as he saw that this man's expression seemed totally emotionless. His eyes were black, with no shine or reflection at all. It was almost as if he were in a trance.

All of a sudden, the man clasped his bony grey hands around Jak's neck. He applied pressure so Jak couldn't breathe. Jak slammed his own hands against the man's to try and remove them but found his hands numb from the bitter cold. The man held Jak up by his neck and Jak went limp. Daxter crawled up the man's arm and bit his hand. The man dropped Jak, who had passed out from lack of oxygen. He recovered a can and sprayed whatever was inside of it, in Daxter face. The ottsel choked, before joining his best friend...

...out cold.

A: N there we go, all finished! Please review! I love to hear from you! At the moment I am feeling very lonely. Puppy eyes

Minasan, ja ne!


	12. Reunion Part One

All of a sudden, the man clasped his bony grey hands around Jak's neck. He applied pressure so Jak couldn't breathe. Jak slammed his own hands against the man's to try and remove them but found his hands numb from the bitter cold. The man held Jak up by his neck and Jak went limp. Daxter crawled up the man's arm and bit his hand. The man dropped Jak, who had passed out from lack of oxygen. He recovered a can and sprayed whatever was inside of it, in Daxter face. The ottsel choked, before joining his best friend...

...out cold.

A: N Hiya! Sorry about the wait. I'm now on deviantART and have to share out the time ;;

Anyway, I would the following people for reviewing: Glorfindel Silverleaf, bananamush and shaunamitchell!

Thanx sooooo much. Luv ya loads! smiles

Off we go...

Chapter 12: Reunion (Part one)

Keira sat with her back pressed against the wall. She had sat in the same dark cell for nearly a whole week. She was beginning to loose hope. Jak and Daxter had not found her yet.

She pushed her leftover "meal" across the floor and watched a small black rat nibble nervously at the stale piece of bread.

Keira sighed deeply and buried her head in her hands. She could help crying. She guessed she would never see her friends and family again but kept on waiting. After all, it was all she could do.

The rat had finished the bread and was now cleaning its face and paws. Keira looked at it. It was her only source of company but was hardly worth making conversation to.

"Hello, little fella" she whispered so she wouldn't scare it. "Have you seen any heroes around here?"

The rat took one look at her and darted through a crack in the wall, leaving a cloud of dust in front of her. Keira sighed once more and resumed sulking in the corner.

She had made herself some sort of "bed" mounted on the back wall. There was a piece of wood but it wasn't too comfy. She had spread her jacket out on top of it and her shoes had been placed at one end to suffice for a pillow.

The young girl wiped away her tears and sat on the bench. She was starving and very thirsty. Sometimes, if some of the fog condensed, she would get a mouthful of clean water, but other than that, she had a cup of a murky liquid to drink from everyday.

The lurker guard would pass it through the bars every morning. If Keira was lucky, she would actually get some of the food if the lurker hadn't dropped it on the dirty stone flooring.

She sat and thought to herself,

"what would Gol and Maia want with me. Isn't it Jak who they wanted? Oh, I do hope he's ok."

She drifted off into a nap. She hadn't slept properly in ages.

Keira figured she must have slept for a while as, when she awoke, it was beginning to get dark. She had fallen off her bench and was now lying on the floor, covered in a thick layer of dust.

There was a sudden loud "crash" coming from around the corner.

"Stupid lurker!" she moaned. "Probably walked into the bars again."

She stood up and looked out of the window. The fog was thicker than ever and she couldn't see the tree anymore. She could only just make out the faint glow of the sun going down below the horizon.

"I wonder what it's like in Sandover at the moment. I wonder if there's a big beautiful sunset and a gentle breeze as well. I'll bet that the birds will be singing merrily and the wumpbees humming as they collect pollen. That reminds me of their honey. Sweet, sweet wumpbee honey. I could sure go for some of that right now. It has a sticky, gooey runny texture and sticks to your fingers. And, and if you get it in your hair, it's a nightmare!" Keira had actually started to giggle at the thought of how frustrating it was to attempt to get wumpbee honey out of her hair.

"It's a wonder golden colour and comes in a bid round jar..." She continued, yawning. "And if you get it all over your fingers, you can't never put the lid on straight..."

"Keira? Is that you?" Interrupted a familiar voice.

"Daddy?" Keira called back.

"Keira! It is you! I've stuck here for days!"

"Daddy! Where's Jak?"

"I don't know! I was sitting by Jak, waiting for him to wake up when Gol and Maia marched right through the door and took me away!"

"They captured you?"

"Yes you could say that. I tried to fight them off but they built some sort of cocoon made of Dark Eco around me. I couldn't move."

Daddy, a few days ago, something weird happened. I was dreaming and Jak was there. He told me not to worry. I mean, it seemed really realistic. I swear I could hear his voice."

"He was using Purple Eco. A means of communication through dreams. That's why he was unconscious."

"What was that noise earlier?"

"I haven't a clue. It came from down there, didn't it?"

"Yeah"

"HELLO?" Samos shouted. "Is anyone there?"

Nothing was heard.

"I give up. All we can do is wait. Jak will come one day" Keira said, optimistically.

"What about Daxter?" Samos asked.

"Oh! And him of course!" She giggled, blushing.

"I wonder if they'll ever find us. We are in the clouds" Samos said, in deep thought.

"Don't worry, Daddy. I have good feeling we'll see them soon" Keira said with a smile on her face. "Hey, look on the bright side. At least we can talk to each other. I know it may not seem like a long time I've been in here, but without someone to communicate with, it feels like an eternity."

"At least you've got a window" Samos joked.

The two of them laughed.

There was another loud "bang" coming from the other end of the corridor.

"There it is again!" Samos shouted.

A: N Sorry it was so short. Please note there is another part to this chapter and I will write it as soon as possible.

R&R pleeeeeeeeeeez!!!

Until then, GOOD BYE!!!


	13. Reunion Part Two

"I wonder if they'll ever find us. We are in the clouds" Samos said, in deep thought.

"Don't worry, Daddy. I have good feeling we'll see them soon" Keira said with a smile on her face. "Hey, look on the bright side. At least we can talk to each other. I know it may not seem like a long time I've been in here, but without someone to communicate with, it feels like an eternity."

"At least you've got a window" Samos joked.

The two of them laughed.

There was another loud "bang" coming from the other end of the corridor.

"There it is again!" Samos shouted.

A: N Gomenasai!!!! I am so sorry! I haven't written in sooo long. It's all because of my internet! I haven't internet access for ages. But now I've got a new account…

Wahoo! Yakow's back!

Thanks go to: Rebeldynasty, shaunamitchell and Pexistence! Thanx a bunch!

You make me feel welcome!

Sorry for the long wait. Read on!

Chapter 13: Reunion (Part two)

The loud banging noises continued. Samos and Keira had grown used to their sudden crash and the loud ringing that followed, so they had started to ignore them.

Little did they know that the banging was not the Lurker, walking into the bars (stupid as they are), but was in fact a well known little ottsel, hitting the bars furiously in an attempt to frighten away the lurker. Daxter was small enough to fit through the bars but the lurker would most certainly gobble him up or chop him into tiny segments. Even if Daxter were able to escape, the chain tied to his leg would stop him from getting very far. It was hopeless. All Daxter's banging was doing was agitating the large, hairy beast itself.

Jak was, however, was still unconscious after being strangled by a guard and passing out from lack of oxygen. He was lying under the bench at the far side of the cell.

Jak and Daxter made a great team. With his strength and the ottsel's quick movements, the two of them could get out of almost anything. Daxter was confident that Jak would wake up soon and both of them could search for Keira and Samos.

Sure enough, Jak stirred slightly and opened his eyes. He climbed out from underneath the bench and crawled over to Daxter who had tired himself out in the process of annoying a certain lurker and had fallen asleep. Jak leant over, worrying that something had happened to his ottsel pal, and put his ear next to Daxter's chest. The ottsel mumbled something along the lines of:

"getting a nice warm glass of yakow milk", before starting to snore. It made Jak jump but he was relieved to see that his best friend was fine but a little hungry. Jak stood up and stretched. He rubbed his head, still dizzy from being knocked out. He had decided to let Daxter sleep as he needed it and the pair of them hadn't slept properly for a while.

Jak himself had perched himself comfortably on the bench and had drifted off.

Jak awoke about half an hour later and sat up. He had got cold from the howling breeze coming down the corridor. For a minute he thought he could hear faint voices.

"It's getting kinda cold isn't it, Daddy?"

"Yes. Too bad we can't close the window."

Jak recognised the two voices and ran to the cell bars, almost stepping on the sleeping Daxter in the process. Jak shook the bars violently in order to make some noise so that the beings along the corridor could hear him. Unfortunately, all he did was disturb the lurker and draw it's attention to himself. The lurker walked to Jak's cell and sat in front of the bars watching his every move. It licked its lips and growled deeply. Jak shuffled back to the bench and dumped himself on top of it heavily. He sighed and planned what he would when he escaped. He would encounter Gol and Maia again for certain but wouldn't be able to beat them on his own. He would need something stronger to aid him against them.

Jak's trail of thought was cut of as the lurker arose and walked off again, obviously bored with Jak's lack of activity.

Jak too stood up and wandered over to Daxter. He prodded him lightly on the shoulder. The ottsel groaned and blinked up at his taller companion.

"Ahh, great! I was having the most wonderful drea-"

Daxter ceased when Jak put a finger against his lips. The elf pointed to the door and shushed Daxter. Daxter listened intensively and could make out a quiet conversation between an old man and a young girl. He smiled and said, cheekily,

"Let me guess; one of them is green!"

Jak sighed, tired of Daxter's constant jokes and nodded.

The young elf had to somehow attract the lurker's attention. He finally thought up a plan. He picked up a stone and waited until the lurker was in sight. He then threw the stone at the lurker's back. The lurker gave a loud growl and started thumping its chest. Jak turned to Daxter, with an expectant look on his face.

"Way ahead of you buddy!" the ottsel said before taking in a deep breath.

"Hey, fleabag!" Daxter screamed. The lurker turned around and headed for Jak and Daxter's cell, it's eyes narrowed with fury. " That's right! I'm talking to you, genius. Why, can you see anyone else around?"

Jak frowned.

"Sorry buddy, I didn't mean you" Daxter said apologetically. "Why don't you come and sharpen those claws on old Daxxie! C'mon, da ottsel is waiting!" Daxter grinned obviously enjoying himself.

"I'll bet I'd make a great scratchi-"

Jak put his hand over Daxter's mouth. The young elf walked in the direction of the gate and lightly pressed himself against the wall. Jak shushed Daxter and winked. Daxter rubbed his hands together, menacingly.

As the lurker arrived just outside the gate, it couldn't see Jak at first glance. It cocked its head to one side and made a confused-sounding whine. Jak immediately stuck his fist out and clobbered the beast over the head. With a loud grunt, it collapsed to the ground.

"Nice one, pal" Daxter remarked.

Jak gave a proud nod and then reached outside the barred gate. He spotted the cell's keys around the lurker's neck. He carefully untied the knot that was securing the piece of rope. Jak grinned, victoriously and crouched beside Daxter. He tried each of the keys until he found the one to open the lock on Daxter's chain. Daxter ran straight out of the cell and towards the familiar voices. On The way, he saluted the lurker and snickered before he continued running.

Jak stuck the correct key in the brass lock and opened the rusty gate. It gave a loud creak as it opened. Jak walked along the corridor to join his best friend, smirking at the lurker as he passed it.

As Jak approached Keira and Samos' cells, he stopped to observe his surroundings. The wind seemed to howl as it ripped through the barred windows and along the narrow corridors. The stone walls looked as though they would collapse at any moment. Jak moved his head towards the wall so that he could take a closer look. They appeared to have been constructed quite along time ago. Just how long had Gol and Maia been up here?

Jak walked up to where Daxter was standing outside the cell. Jak shoved another key in the lock and heaved the door open. It too groaned with age. He did the same to Samos' cell as well. All of them sat in Samos' cell, as it was slightly bigger than Keira's.

"Jak!" Keira shouted and hugged him, nearly knocking him over.

"Hey!" Daxter cried in envy. "Jak wouldn't have made it this far without me!"

Keira rolled her eyes and Jak smiled.

Keira crouched beside Daxter and hugged him, hesitantly. She was obviously worried that Daxter had fleas.

"Thanks, sugar!" Daxter said, satisfied.

"How long have you two been in here?" Samos asked.

"Oh, only about a day. But we have spent ages beforehand looking for you guys. Isn't that right, Jak?"

Jak was obviously not paying any attention whatsoever; he was sitting on the bench next to Keira with one arm around her shoulders. She was curling his blonde hair around her fingers and whispering, affectionately, in his ear. Jak just nodded when he heard his name. (Author: giggles hee hee! Mushy stuff! Goes back to typing)

"Right, now we are all together, we should find some method of escape", Samos suggested pointing to the other end of the corridor.

"Ok! Jak, you lead the way!" Keira exclaimed, looking very confident. She squeezed him tightly before letting him walk in front of them.

Jak sighed and walked out into the empty corridor, awaiting the dangers of the rest of the castle.

A: N Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Am I happy to be back on the internet or what?! I lurve writing this story because I think that Jak in the first game is sooooo cute! There! Another chappie done! Only a few more (or I might want to extend it!) to go!

Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeez review! I would love to have feedback after being absent for ages. In your reviews, please suggest any challenges that they could face. I will choose my favourite or combine any suggestions that you give.

Until next time! Bye!


	14. A Castle of Many Surprises part 1

"Right, now we are all together, we should find some method of escape", Samos suggested pointing to the other end of the corridor.

"Ok! Jak, you lead the way!" Keira exclaimed, looking very confident. She squeezed him tightly before letting him walk in front of them.

Jak sighed and walked out into the empty corridor, awaiting the dangers of the rest of the castle.

A:N Sorry about that. You probably have stopped reading my fic now sigh but! I am still here, I just spend most of my time on Deviantart. Sorry.

However, that doesn't stop me from going on and I am determined to finish this fanfiction. Oh yes, I am! Dies

I'm going to thank yuna-elena for being soooo loyal. I love you lots! 3

Off we go!

Chapter 15: A Castle of Many Surprises (part 1)

Daxter walked in front as always, acting brave but would hide behind Jak at even the slightest of noises. Even from a drip of water, he would dive onto his best friend and hang there, clinging to his leg.

The passage ways seemed to go on forever, they had an enchanting feel though gloomy and damp. There were puddles beneath their feet from the leaking roof and some of the flame torches had gone out from the wind that forced its way down to the castle's seemingly infinite tunnels. It possessed an eerie howl but was somehow warm. It had a very odd smell which was hardly pleasant and blew in short pulses.

"Awwww…..when does this stupid tunnel end?" Daxter moaned. "I'm so tired!"

The ottsel collapsed melodramatically but Jak just clasped his friend around the middle and dumped him on his shoulder. Daxter just kept mumbling to himself.

The five of them kept walking through the passage way. Each footstep echoing and getting heavier from tiredness.

"Well, I think it's time for a break!" Daxter said leaping off Jak's shoulder onto the hard stone floor.

"Daxter, you haven't been doing anything!" Keira pointed out.

"Yeah, but you guys really looked like you needed a good rest. Sheesh! I'm just looking out for you." The ottsel replied in a sarcastic tone.

Samos lowered himself to the floor and closed his eyes in deep thought.

"I suppose Samos is going to do his usual 'I'm gonna talk to the rocks and trees' garbage again, huh?" Daxter said. Jak and Keira frowned at him.

Keira sat down and put her arms around her chest to try and keep warm. Jak noticed this and sat down beside her.

"It's so cold down here" she complained. "That's much better" she said as Jak put his arms around her. Both of them blushed. Daxter saw this and spun around in the opposite direction with his nose in the air, very obviously jealous.

"I'll bet you're cold too Dax, come and cuddle up to us" Keira suggested. Daxter snorted but every few seconds he would glance at the two teens.

"Ahhh…I was just kidding. Make room for orange lightning!" The ottsel jumped in between Jak and Keira and grinned. Jak and Keira laughed.

Samos continued to sit in deep thought but eventually stood up with a look of conclusion on his face.

"After much meditation, I have noticed that we are in fact going downhill sense some life and I can also sense water nearby. Whether that is a good thing, we are yet to find out." Samos finished, dusting off his clothes and picking up his staff as an indication to continue walking. Jak picked up Daxter and all of them continued to wonder down the passage.

After another ten minutes Keira noticed something.

"That's funny" she said, "I think the wind is getting stronger…"

"And warmer" Samos added.

Jak sudden ran ahead.

"Where's he going?" Keira asked as she watched him disappear into the gloom.

Jak ran towards the wind. He could feel it getting stronger, warmer and the odour getting considerably stronger. He could feel it in pulses, getting clearer with each step he took towards its source. A loud rumbling was getting louder.

By then he had already realised what it was…

It had to be alive.

Samos was right. He could sense life. But this form of life was one to be afraid of. By the sound of it's breath (the short bursts of wind), this creature was not of a small size but of one far greater than Jak had ever encountered. Sure enough, out of sheer curiosity (Jak's weakness to this day) he travelled far enough down the passageway to actually lay eyes upon this creature.

There it lay. The biggest Lurker known in the world. It looked similar to claw but was about three times the size and had the largest canines Jak had ever seen. This creature was trouble.

Fortunately, it was fast asleep and what the others had been feeling was it's very loud snoring. Jak stopped right before this great beast and watched it, being careful not to make a sound.

The others caught up with the young boy and saw him sitting on the ground in front of the Lurker. Samos and Keira were silent from shock when they noticed this huge beast that lay sleeping right before Jak who didn't seem to be afraid at all.

Daxter who had been dragging along behind Keira and her father finally caught up but as soon as he lay eyes on the Lurker he foolishly screamed.

"Holy crap, Jak! What the hell are you doing?" the little ottsel shouted, stirring the Lurker.

Jak turned around and shot an angry glare at Daxter who cowered on the stone floor. Jak quickly stood up as he watched the Lurker's eyes open. It's pupils narrowed as it saw the teenage boy in front of it.

Keira screamed when the enormous creature rose to a standing position. It gave a deafening roar. Jak looked up at it right in the eye.

The Lurker began chase.

A:n

Well…so concludes the end of another chapter. I promise (I hope) the wait for the next one will not be as long. I hope to get back onto more regularly coz I am very rarely on it. My muse has ran off. Gotta go find her and I will bring the next chapter as soon as I can. Keep reviewing!


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